Questions about saving chairs on deck

[Mighty Mouse Mama]

Okay, I know I'm probably going to get some very passionate responses to this but, what exactly is the policy on how long you can expect your chair on deck to stay reserved? I'm not talking about putting a towel on it at the crack of dawn and expecting it to be reserved all day. I know that's a complete jerk move. But since I've seen several references on here to frustrations with people saving seats, etc...is it okay to save your chair while you are actually in the pool? Or if you leave the deck area to go grab food or ice cream? How long is acceptable to walk away from your lounge chair and expect to still find your things on it when you return? Again...not trying to see if I can reserve one for the whole day. I just don't want to get out of the pool and not find my stuff where I left it on a busy day, or get yelled at for saving a seat if it's not allowed.
Same question for the shows. I know we're not supposed to save a bunch of seats early. But since we have young children, usually one of us will take the kids to the restroom fairly close to the beginning of a show (or anything else that they might be sitting through) to avoid having to get up in the middle of it. If I take the kids to the bathroom before the show, will my husband get yelled at or told he can't hold our seats till we come back?

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Okay, I know I'm probably going to get some very passionate responses to this but, what exactly is the policy on how long you can expect your chair on deck to stay reserved? I'm not talking about putting a towel on it at the crack of dawn and expecting it to be reserved all day. I know that's a complete jerk move. But since I've seen several references on here to frustrations with people saving seats, etc...is it okay to save your chair while you are actually in the pool? Or if you leave the deck area to go grab food or ice cream? How long is acceptable to walk away from your lounge chair and expect to still find your things on it when you return? Again...not trying to see if I can reserve one for the whole day. I just don't want to get out of the pool and not find my stuff where I left it on a busy day, or get yelled at for saving a seat if it's not allowed.
Same question for the shows. I know we're not supposed to save a bunch of seats early. But since we have young children, usually one of us will take the kids to the restroom fairly close to the beginning of a show (or anything else that they might be sitting through) to avoid having to get up in the middle of it. If I take the kids to the bathroom before the show, will my husband get yelled at or told he can't hold our seats till we come back?

I think what you described is perfectly acceptable. I'll leave a chair for a few minutes to grab a slice of pizza or something but I wouldn't do that to grab a full on lunch in Cabanas. Taking kids to the bathroom before a show does not constitute saving a seat in my book. But to quote Dennis Miller, "that's just my opinion, I could be wrong."

 

[MunFam]

Since there are no written rules about enforcing these policies, it is hard to tell how the cast and guests on board will react. Would a normal, rational person think that what you have questioned is okay...sure...BUT DCL is filled with irrational, self serving "its my vacation and I paid a ton of money to be here, so me, me, me, me, me" people...you just never know what you will encounter.

 

[JW9DVC]

If my family went to use the restroom, after they sat down. It became the seat for the show. If someone wants to attempt to push me on something like that. They will have hell to pay. Yes, if need be I would make a large scene to embarrass the person that is trying to push themselves into a seat they will not get.

Now I'm sure most of the time. These people won't try to push. If they do though, I will be willing to take the challenge. Especially if someone went for a show and had to use the restroom or grab a quick drink. That's not saving a seat. That's holding a seat they get.

JW

 

[chaseg03]

Okay, I know I'm probably going to get some very passionate responses to this but, what exactly is the policy on how long you can expect your chair on deck to stay reserved? I'm not talking about putting a towel on it at the crack of dawn and expecting it to be reserved all day. I know that's a complete jerk move. But since I've seen several references on here to frustrations with people saving seats, etc...is it okay to save your chair while you are actually in the pool? Or if you leave the deck area to go grab food or ice cream? How long is acceptable to walk away from your lounge chair and expect to still find your things on it when you return? Again...not trying to see if I can reserve one for the whole day. I just don't want to get out of the pool and not find my stuff where I left it on a busy day, or get yelled at for saving a seat if it's not allowed.
Same question for the shows. I know we're not supposed to save a bunch of seats early. But since we have young children, usually one of us will take the kids to the restroom fairly close to the beginning of a show (or anything else that they might be sitting through) to avoid having to get up in the middle of it. If I take the kids to the bathroom before the show, will my husband get yelled at or told he can't hold our seats till we come back?

For the deck, it was early morning and I was putting towels for my parents on two chairs, a cm did not like that. Whatever, I really got mad when he saw two adults do the same thing, mayabe just because I'm a teen, who knows.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We were at a show and the guy in front of me was holding his wife's seat, as she was in the bathroom. She'd been there and gotten up to go. In the meantime, a couple of ladies came by, insisting they needed that seat and there was no saving allowed. Quite loudly, too. But it came out that they needed the seat to save for their dad who was coming later. Oh, and when they finally got settled, one of them went to the bathroom, so the other had to save her seat. The gentleman's wife came back just after the debacle, but he'd managed to save her seat, despite the other women's protests.

So, I think bathroom breaks and snack runs are fine, maybe even run back to the room to get your sweater. But sending one person to save a bunch of seats for stragglers is not fine.

As for the pool, I saw so many towels on chairs that I was afraid to sit down. If you find a chair up on deck and you're in the pool, I think you're fine. Also, if you run to the bathroom or for a drink or food that you're bringing back to your chair (okay, don't run, as it is a pool deck!). But if you're packing up things and wanting to save your seat while you go for lunch or back to the room or down to guest services, etc, then that's not okay. You're leaving with the intent of being away for a time.

 

[RedSox68]

We were at a show and the guy in front of me was holding his wife's seat, as she was in the bathroom. She'd been there and gotten up to go. In the meantime, a couple of ladies came by, insisting they needed that seat and there was no saving allowed. Quite loudly, too. But it came out that they needed the seat to save for their dad who was coming later. Oh, and when they finally got settled, one of them went to the bathroom, so the other had to save her seat. The gentleman's wife came back just after the debacle, but he'd managed to save her seat, despite the other women's protests.

So, I think bathroom breaks and snack runs are fine, maybe even run back to the room to get your sweater. But sending one person to save a bunch of seats for stragglers is not fine.

As for the pool, I saw so many towels on chairs that I was afraid to sit down. If you find a chair up on deck and you're in the pool, I think you're fine. Also, if you run to the bathroom or for a drink or food that you're bringing back to your chair (okay, don't run, as it is a pool deck!). But if you're packing up things and wanting to save your seat while you go for lunch or back to the room or down to guest services, etc, then that's not okay. You're leaving with the intent of being away for a time.

See, to me this is complete irrational behavior. If a couple are sitting there and one leaves, the other has a perfect right to hold that seat. What do they expect -- for the partner to find a seat somewhere else when they return.

Same with the pool chairs -- I have never seen anything wrong with saving one chair while you are in the pool or taking your kid to the bathroom, etc. I think the major issue is when people lay objects out at the crack of dawn for the day, or a family saves seats for every single member when most the members are in the pool and won't even be using the chairs for the most part. I'm glad we're not pool people

But I can say that the closest we came to this extreme seat saving was our first time through the Panama Canal. We got up at 5 a.m. to see the pilot brought onboard, and went up deck at 6 a.m. to get some views. People had actually dragged all the loungers and chairs to the rails -- around the whole front of the ship, so that you could not get to the rails or see. I heard a CM say "this is NOT going to be allowed" and immediately had crew breaking up the chairs and moving them back. Seriously, that was a very self-centered "me me me" move on the part of those passengers!

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

I have no problem with someone at the show saving a seat for their other half that got up to use the restroom.

Saving a seat for someone who is not there and won't be there for another 20 or 30 minutes because they are doing something else is a no-no in my book. I also agree; trying to save your seats by the pool while you go to lunch is also a no-no. Now if your getting up to grab something quick (i.e. drink, slice of pizza, ice cream) it is perfectly fine to hold your seat.

Psy

 

[JWG]

We, typically two families traveling together of 7 people, will save (only while we are on deck 11 at the pool) the smallest table we can find up on deck 11 away from Cabanas (so not the tables set with silverware and napkins). Often times it's a table for 4 and usually one or more of us are at the table as we transition around the deck between pool, hot tub, snacks, slides, ice cream, etc. We've paid attention and never found that there were no tables available as to make sure we weren't inconveniencing anyone trying to eat. With 4 adults and 3 kids, it's rare someone isn't at the table.

If it's just the 3 of us (one family), we typically use 1 deck chair while we're on deck 11. All things (towels, phones, shoes, drinks, etc.) go on/under that one deck chair.

We try to keep our footprint small.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Saving a seat for someone who is not there and won't be there for another 20 or 30 minutes because they are doing something else is a no-no in my book.

I agree with this. It's like queue-jumping. Sending one person to wait then flooding the line when they hit a certain point is a jerk move. Blocking out chairs for your party of 20 while they shower? Jerk move.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

IMHO, it is always fine to save a seat for someone who has already sat down and has gotten up to go to the restroom. That is not what the no saving rule in the theaters is about.

At the pool, if we are doing more than picking something up and coming right back to the chairs, or getting in the hot tub for 5 minutes, I expect to give up my chairs. Not OK to save them while I go to lunch.

My other rule is my kids do not take up chairs unless they are actually sitting in them. There is no need for us to take up 4 chairs for each family member to have a place to put their stuff when really only 2 of us at any one time are going to be sitting down.

 

[Pens Fan]

OP, personally I think what you are suggesting is perfectly fine, and most reasonable people would have no issues with it. But I agree with others, that you just never know what type of person you are going to encounter on board. So be prepared. Here is one example:

We were on the Wonder in Alaska and the buffet was a mad house for breakfast. The three of us were getting our food and I was the first to get mine and go search out a table. There were no open tables at all inside, but I found one (just one) on the outer deck. The table had three chairs, so it was perfect for us. Just as I sat my food down and was taking a seat, a man came up and without saying a word, picked up one of the chairs. I politely told him, sorry but we will need all three chairs as my husband and son are right behind me. He got extremely huffy, saying no one is using the chair, you can't save chairs, etc., and that he needed the chair for his family. He's yelling at me at this point, making quite a scene. I again tried to calmly explain that the chairs were intended for the table I was sitting at and we would be using them all. He took the chair and walked away.

At this point my husband and son arrived. I told them what happened. My husband headed over to the rather large stack of spare chairs (which were about 20 feet from the jerk's table ironically), picked up one and stopped by his table which was now full of his rather large family. DH quietly and calmly explained to the guy that if you wanted an extra chair you are supposed to grab one from the stack sitting close by just for that purpose, not steal them from a woman. The looks on his family member's faces was priceless. We saw that guy all over the ship during that cruise and he always got that "oh sh@#!" look and would turn away.

 

[Bethany10]

My other rule is my kids do not take up chairs unless they are actually sitting in them. There is no need for us to take up 4 chairs for each family member to have a place to put their stuff when really only 2 of us at any one time are going to be sitting down.

This is our rule too and one of my biggest pet peeves about the pool. I walk by rows and rows of "saved" chairs every summer. You're IN the pool, why do you need 4 chairs? You know it's jammed, you know people are going to be looking for chairs. My kids live in the water and don't need their own seat. they can sit on the end of mine for the under 5 minutes they're going to squirm while I try and get another layer of sunscreen on them.
sorry for the rant, but this hacks me off every freaking summer.

OP, I agree with many others here, if you're going to take your kid to the restroom, grab a drink or slice of pizza you're perfectly within your rights to expect your seat to be there when you come back. If you're going to change, go to lunch, then come back then no, you give up your seat. But, doing that means you get the opportunity to find a new location you might find has a better view of the funnelvision, or someone has given up a seat with a view of the water. You never know what you might find if you're forced to change. it's not always bad.

 

[Dug720]

I generally agree with the "just to grab a slice of pizza or soda" it's ok on the pool deck. Or - and here is where I'll get picky - you have been sitting in the theatre for a few minutes and a kid has to go to the bathroom. I do find it kind of tacky and annoying when a kid has been announcing outside the theater that they need to go to the bathroom but the parents opt to go in and get seats and immediately leave one person there. If the kid has said it outside the theater, take them then. And THEN find seats. I'm sure that is not a popular opinion, but it is how I feel (probably because that is how I was raised).

And no, it is NOT ok for 2 teen boys to be sent to hold THREE ROWS of seats for a group. Especially a group that is going to be constantly rearranging themselves up to showtime and even WHILE the show was going on. We got the pleasure of sitting behind this group for Twice Charmed in February. The first night I'd say about half the group made it just after the theater opened and the rest straggled in. And with each new straggler, people were up and down and shifting seats. It was to the point I was about ready to kick the back of some chairs. Trust me, it would have been less obnoxious. Thankfully the row in front of us settled down. We somehow managed to avoid them for Tangled. But we had sat down for Dreams and then saw the 2 or three teen boys trying to hold the whole rows again and I looked at my parents and said "I would rather sit on the side than deal with that nonsense." They agreed and we moved over and had a wonderful show. There was an older couple we'd rolled eyes with this group about the second night, and I laughed out loud when they came in and deposited themselves right in the middle of the attempted save and refused to move for Dreams.

 

[RedSox68]

I generally agree with the "just to grab a slice of pizza or soda" it's ok on the pool deck. Or - and here is where I'll get picky - you have been sitting in the theatre for a few minutes and a kid has to go to the bathroom. I do find it kind of tacky and annoying when a kid has been announcing outside the theater that they need to go to the bathroom but the parents opt to go in and get seats and immediately leave one person there. If the kid has said it outside the theater, take them then. And THEN find seats. I'm sure that is not a popular opinion, but it is how I feel (probably because that is how I was raised).

And no, it is NOT ok for 2 teen boys to be sent to hold THREE ROWS of seats for a group. Especially a group that is going to be constantly rearranging themselves up to showtime and even WHILE the show was going on. We got the pleasure of sitting behind this group for Twice Charmed in February. The first night I'd say about half the group made it just after the theater opened and the rest straggled in. And with each new straggler, people were up and down and shifting seats. It was to the point I was about ready to kick the back of some chairs. Trust me, it would have been less obnoxious. Thankfully the row in front of us settled down. We somehow managed to avoid them for Tangled. But we had sat down for Dreams and then saw the 2 or three teen boys trying to hold the whole rows again and I looked at my parents and said "I would rather sit on the side than deal with that nonsense." They agreed and we moved over and had a wonderful show. There was an older couple we'd rolled eyes with this group about the second night, and I laughed out loud when they came in and deposited themselves right in the middle of the attempted save and refused to move for Dreams.

Yay for the older couple -- way to go! Unfortunately, my pet peeve is that -- knowing that this is a continual problem in the theater -- Disney never assigns a crew member to keep an eye on it!

 

[Dug720]

Yay for the older couple -- way to go! Unfortunately, my pet peeve is that -- knowing that this is a continual problem in the theater -- Disney never assigns a crew member to keep an eye on it!

Exactly! And in this case in particular it's not like it wasn't obvious. You had one kid per row running from end to end stopping people from going in - or trying to.

Of course this was also the night I suggested to Clayton after the show that they add in a "for your own safety and that of the performers we ask that you remain in your seats for the duration of the show - or if you cannot, use the far outside aisles" announcement - or something like that. There was one dad with a toddler who even after having been told THREE TIMES that they needed to move because a performer was coming down the aisle continued to move into the aisle and play with her. And right before Elsa's entrance - which is pretty dark - the cruise staffs member on our side had to go FLYING down the aisle and stop FIVE PEOPLE from coming up. By The Lion King time it was too sad to be funny the people up and moving around. Granted, there are no announcements made (or at that point weren't), but after you've seen 2 or 3 people come down the aisles as part of the show, to me it would make sense to check things out - or move to the far aisles if I had to leave.

 

[dcassetta]

Okay, I know I'm probably going to get some very passionate responses to this but, what exactly is the policy on how long you can expect your chair on deck to stay reserved? I'm not talking about putting a towel on it at the crack of dawn and expecting it to be reserved all day. I know that's a complete jerk move. But since I've seen several references on here to frustrations with people saving seats, etc...is it okay to save your chair while you are actually in the pool? Or if you leave the deck area to go grab food or ice cream? How long is acceptable to walk away from your lounge chair and expect to still find your things on it when you return? Again...not trying to see if I can reserve one for the whole day. I just don't want to get out of the pool and not find my stuff where I left it on a busy day, or get yelled at for saving a seat if it's not allowed.
Same question for the shows. I know we're not supposed to save a bunch of seats early. But since we have young children, usually one of us will take the kids to the restroom fairly close to the beginning of a show (or anything else that they might be sitting through) to avoid having to get up in the middle of it. If I take the kids to the bathroom before the show, will my husband get yelled at or told he can't hold our seats till we come back?

My rule of thumb is if you leave the pool deck, you should take your things with you and not save the seats. I do not count using the restroom, using the pools and hot tubs, or getting counter service foods to be brought back to your seat as leaving the pool deck. I do count Cabanas as leaving the pool deck.

 

[JWG]

My rule of thumb is if you leave the pool deck, you should take your things with you and not save the seats. I do not count using the restroom, using the pools and hot tubs, or getting counter service foods to be brought back to your seat as leaving the pool deck. I do count Cabanas as leaving the pool deck.

I'd agree.
The issue has become those who come up to the pool deck at 8:00am to "reserve" deck chairs for later that day when they decide to come back (which could be hours). Show up when you want to show up, take the appropriate amount of space needed, take everything with you when you decide it's time to go. While, as I mentioned above, we tend to put our stuff at a small table for our two families while on the pool deck - we do pay attention to if there's a space issue and have/will allow others to share the table with us (or, if it's become that crowded, we'll just leave and seek sanctuary from the masses somewhere else).

 

[bumbershoot]

My other rule is my kids do not take up chairs unless they are actually sitting in them. There is no need for us to take up 4 chairs for each family member to have a place to put their stuff when really only 2 of us at any one time are going to be sitting down.

I agree but it's not just a kid thing. If I'm in the hot tub (and I can sit in a hot tub like a champ, breaking all the rules of how longneck you should stay in), I don't need my own chair if it's a busy day.

I do find it kind of tacky and annoying when a kid has been announcing outside the theater that they need to go to the bathroom but the parents opt to go in and get seats and immediately leave one person there

True, but then what if it's an adult who needs to use the restroom? What if you're in line with your parents and you have to go? Would you actually not want them to save a space for you because you get out of line?

And in this case in particular it's not like it wasn't obvious. You had one kid per row running from end to end stopping people from going in - or trying to.

I feel for those kids having to do that. Can't have been fun.

 

[Dug720]

I agree but it's not just a kid thing. If I'm in the hot tub (and I can sit in a hot tub like a champ, breaking all the rules of how longneck you should stay in), I don't need my own chair if it's a busy day.



True, but then what if it's an adult who needs to use the restroom? What if you're in line with your parents and you have to go? Would you actually not want them to save a space for you because you get out of line?



I feel for those kids having to do that. Can't have been fun.

Well, first we make sure we go before heading to the theatre - even as adults. But no, we would have waited outside for whoever had an emergency. We know the front is not the best seats anyway, so there is hardly ever an issue for the better seats which are further back.

Oh they were having great fun running back and forth. And trying to be enforcers.